Sussing Out the Best Blue Crab Rolls

A great blue crab roll should be flavorful and delicate, never heavy. But even at the best sushi places, the crab is sometimes overchilled, dulling the flavor. So where’s the best?

At Echigo, you get maximum crab and minimum dressing on supercrisp nori, says tanja.

Sasabune is another fave; if you want to avoid rice, you can get the crab mixture wrapped in an insane piece of squid, tentacles and all, says revets2.

Sushi Wasabi in Tustin gets several shout-outs, and so do the wonderfully large rolls at the pristine Kiriko.

But at Sushi Zo, the blue crab rolls are made with perfect precision, says glutton, balancing delicious crab, warm rice, and crisp nori. They’ve been known, though, to overchill the crab.

Still, Zo is trouncing Kiriko on the boards of late. Says Pei, “Zo’s fish is meltingly tender, obviously carefully selected from the best part of the fish. The aftertaste of each dish is sweet, sometimes with the lingering scent of the ocean. The blue crab handrolls, while tiny, are each a concentrated flavor packet. Sure, Keizo-san is curt, but I stand by my assessment that while stern he’s not without a sense of humor (albeit an easily misinterpreted, odd sense of humor).”

At Kiriko, the same $45 gets you bigger portions and quite good fish, but not a single bite is amazing. On the plus side, there are more nonsushi options, the chef won’t scowl at you, and the homemade ice cream (especially honey sesame) is lovely.